Premonitions and Decisions
by divcon
Summary: What if COE was all a dream? Or was it a premonition? A bit of fluff to fix what was done to Janto. Hope you like it. Please read and review. I don't own these characters, I'm just playing with them for a bit. If you don't like slash fics, don't read.
1. Chapter 1

**Premonitions and Decisions**

**Chapter One**

Jack woke with a start. The dream he had just had was so vivid. He wiped the tears from his cheeks and turned his head, his eyes searching out Ianto.

He wasn't there; Jack's heart missed a beat. Was it a dream or had Ianto actually died in his arms at Thames House? Jack swung his legs over the side of the bed and dropped his head into his hands and let out a deep sob that was followed by another and another. His whole body shook with grief. At first he didn't even realise that someone was sitting next to him.

"Cariad, what's wrong?"

Jack turned his head, this tear filled eyes round with shock. Ianto raised his hand and wiped away his tears.

"Yan, you're here." Jack whispered his voice full of pain and relief, "Where were you?"

"Of course I'm here; you're at my place after all. What's going on?"

"I woke up and you weren't here, where were you?"

"I was in the bathroom. Jack, you're starting to scare me, what's happened?"

"Oh Yan, it was all a dream. You're still here, still with me. That's all that matters."

Jack took Ianto in his arms and held onto him. He never wanted to let him go. Ianto sensed that Jack wasn't ready to talk so he kissed his forehead. Lying down, he gently pulled Jack down to rest on his chest. Ianto ran his fingers through Jack's hair and felt his wet cheeks on his chest. It caused him pain to know that Jack had been crying and couldn't tell him why. He'd never seen Jack like this.

Eventually Jack's breathing steadied and became slow and regular. Ianto knew that he'd fallen asleep. Looking out the window, he could see the lights of the bay. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. When he awoke a couple of hours later, it was his head that was lying on Jack's chest but he could tell that Jack was still asleep from the steady rise and fall of his chest. Slowly he lifted his head and rested it on his hands and watched Jack sleep. It was the only time he looked at peace. His eyes moved behind his eyelids and there was a small smile on his lips. Ianto wanted to kiss him but he resisted, making himself get out of bed. He grabbed a pair of boxer shorts and walked out of the room.

As he made his way to the kitchen he grabbed the phone. Before dialling the number he checked the time to make sure she would be awake. Knowing that by now she would be, he dialled her number and sure enough Gwen answered on the second ring. He quickly and quietly told her that he and Jack would be in late if they even actually made it in to the Hub today. Gwen asked if everything was alright and he told her that he wasn't really sure but would let her know. She told him to take his time and if anything urgent came up she would call them. Ianto thanked her and hung up. He then turned his attention towards making their morning coffee. Jack could be a bear if he didn't get his first cup of coffee within minutes of waking. Ianto stood in the kitchen and waited for the coffee to percolate. As he waited, he once again wondered what had upset Jack so much earlier this morning. He hoped Jack would talk to him about it and not keep it locked away as he tended to do. Every time Ianto thought he'd found a hole in the brick wall that surrounded Jack's heart, he realised that Jack had just gone and built another wall behind it. He knew that Jack had lost so many people but he also knew that for whatever time that they had together he could make him happy.

"Ianto?" Jack called out. Not again, he thought. The bed was empty but this time Jack waited and he instantly knew that Ianto was in the apartment because he could smell coffee and Ianto's side of the bed was still warm. Jack lay down and shivered as he remembered last night's dream. It had felt so real but he knew that that was because some of it was real. He really had been in Scotland in '65. He'd been involved in that deal with the 456. He had pushed those thoughts deep, not wanting to remember how those children had been so trusting of 'Uncle Jack'. Had his mind decided to torture him with the loss of so many or was it a warning? Had someone, somehow been trying to prepare him of what was to come? Should he try to do things differently? Or would fate take the two most important men in his life away from him? He realised that in that dream Ianto had no idea of how Jack felt; come to think of it neither did Jack. Also Steven had no idea who Jack really was. Jack closed his eyes and tried to work out what to do.

Ianto walked back into the bedroom carrying two cups of coffee. As soon as he sat down on the bed, Jack opened his eyes and stared up at him and in that instant Ianto knew that he loved this man. This thought gave him pause. Up till now it had been fun, knowing about Jack's longevity he had been very careful to keep it that way for both of their sakes, so to realise that somewhere along the way he had fallen in love with a man who, if he was completely honest with himself, he didn't really know a lot about, was quite a shock. He handed Jack his coffee and caressed his cheek before rubbing his thumb over Jack's lower lip. Feeling its fullness and wanted to kiss it, Ianto sighed and wondered what he was going to do next. He knew that Jack never truly let his heart go; he would never love Ianto in the way that he loved Jack. Was it time to leave Torchwood and start over again somewhere else? Could he leave Torchwood, could he leave Jack?

Jack accepted the coffee and shivered with pleasure at Ianto's touch. The young man had no idea how much a simple touch from him could turn Jack to jelly. His eye's never left Ianto's and he was shocked to see so much love in the younger man's eyes. He'd seen that look many times over many, many years. Emotions that always lead to him being hurt or hurting another to save himself. So it was with a mixture of sorrow and joy that he realised that he had fallen deeply and passionately in love with Ianto. He'd only ever truly been in love half a dozen times throughout his very long life. Apart from The Doctor, which to be honest was probably more a crush than anything deeper, his last true love would have been Alice's mother. He had sworn than that he would never let himself fall in love again but it had happened without him even realising. Now he had to decide what to do. He knew how it would end, how it always ended. Him standing at their graveside, whether they died young or old, he was there, looking exactly the same as he did when they first met. Should he follow his heart or his head? Should he give into this and be with Ianto, enjoy every second that they were together, making the best of any time they had or should he make him leave. Deny any feelings for him break his heart now but know that he would move on and find someone who would grow old with him.

When Ianto's thumb caressed his bottom lip it caused fireworks to explode in his chest and he caught his breath. He knew that he could not let this man leave. It might be selfish but he needed Ianto in his life. That dream had told him that, he needed to make sure that Ianto knew how much he loved him. How much he needed him. Although having decided that, Jack began to wonder how much of his long life should he tell Ianto? Should he tell him about Alice and Steven, should he tell him about the children? Should he tell him about the other horrific things that he had done before he realised his true mission in life?

"Ianto, we have to talk." He said softly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

When Gwen reached the Hub, she turned on all the lights and went to her station to check last night's activity. She didn't like being the first one, or the only one in the Hub. It was quiet, too quiet. It had only been a few months since Tosh and Owen had died. Their funerals had been so hard on all of them. She had thanked God that she had had Rhys to lean on and she was glad that Jack and Ianto had each other. Jack, she knew, had felt deep guilt over their deaths. He had blamed himself. Saying if he hadn't recruited them in the first place, they never would have been here. If he hadn't let go of Grey's hand and if he hadn't let John back into his life, they would have still been here. Nothing she had said to him had eased his guilt or the pain that he felt. He had hardly left his office the weeks following their deaths. He left to go to their funerals but only at the insistence of both her and Ianto. The rest of the time, he sat at his desk staring into space until Ianto had said that enough was enough and had marched into his office. Gwen smiled as she remembered how shocked Jack had been when Ianto was yelling at him.

"_Damn it Jack! Snap out of it. We need you. Gwen and I are still here. The Rift is still active. You can't stay in here forever, hiding. What happened…" he paused and wiped his eyes. He continued in a softer voice, "happened. We can't reverse __it; we can't bring back Tosh and Owen. We have to move on. You told us that, the beginning is where we start from. Please Jack, come back to me."_

Jack had just watched Ianto as he'd yelled his eyes wide with shock. Ianto rarely raised his voice and almost never at Jack but it was the silent pleading in his last sentence that had a tear rolling down Jack's cheek. He reached out and squeezed Ianto's hand and nodded slightly. Ianto leaned forward and placed a quick gentle kiss on his forehead before wiping his tears and standing up. Jack followed suit and walked out of his office behind Ianto. When Jack reached Gwen she gave him a hug and whispered welcome back in his ear. Jack lingered in the hug for a moment and realised that he no longer felt anything other than a brotherly love for Gwen and a deep appreciation for all she had done for him and Torchwood in general. He knew that he could go on, just as he had before and he had Ianto to thank for that.

Gwen shook her head to clear her mind and turned her attention back to the screen. Thank God it had been a quiet night. No Rift activity and nothing out of the ordinary on the police network. Smiling slightly, she went off to make a coffee and start some paperwork. She didn't expect to see Jack and Ianto at all today. She just wished that they would admit to each other and to themselves that whatever was between them was something more than casual. She could see the love between them and she wanted them to see it for themselves. Maybe today was the day. She had noticed that their relationship had changed since that day that Ianto had yelled at Jack. Maybe he'd started to see Ianto as more than just the coffee boy and his part-time shag as Owen had once crudely put it. Maybe Jack and Ianto would find their way to each other.

Ianto felt his world start to collapse. This couldn't be a good thing. Jack wanted to end things, just when Ianto had owned up to himself that he loved Jack. He had always loved him. From that very first night in the forest when they were fighting with that Weevil. Even though he had told himself that he was only using Jack to get Lisa into the Torchwood facility. He knew now that that spark had been there from the beginning. Jack had touched something inside him. Something no other person had, let alone a man. Ianto never would have thought that he would have felt this way about a man. He had never been homophobic, he had had a few gay friends when he and Lisa lived in London, but he had a girlfriend and had never even had any twinges of attraction to any other man. Not until he met Jack Harkness. Seeing Jack die over and over again, tore at his heart. He didn't know how Jack could have such a positive view on life. Having lost so many people, having to live on when they didn't. He supposed it would have happened to them but not now. Jack was ending it. Ianto would respect what Jack said, but he would have to leave Torchwood all together, possibly even Cardiff. He wouldn't be able to go on knowing that Jack was in the same city and he could run into him at any time.

Thank God he hadn't spurted out that he loved him a couple of minutes ago. Although he shouldn't be surprised, this was what Jack did. He built brick walls. Ianto pulled back his hand and wrapped it around his coffee cup and watched Jack as he sat up in bed. Unfortunately, the sheet slipped down and Ianto could see all of Jack. Averting his eyes, he took a couple of deep breaths to steady his racing heart. The sight of Jack naked always caused this reaction. He could hear Jack pulling up the sheet, covering himself.

"Yan?"

"It's ok Jack. I understand. I won't make this hard for you. I know, it was fun but it's over. No problem. I'll let you get dressed."

With that, Ianto stood up and walked out of the room. Jack reached out to stop him from leaving but the younger man was too quick for him. So he tossed the sheet aside, pulled on his briefs and went after him. He found him in the living room looking out of the window, staring sightlessly across the bay. His shoulders were moving slightly and Jack could tell that he was crying. This tore at Jack's heart. He walked over and wrapped his arms around Ianto and nuzzled his neck before making him turn to face him. Clutching his face with both of his hands, Jack kissed away his tears before giving him a passionate kiss.

"Ianto, I don't want to end anything. I was going to tell you that I love you."

Ianto's eyes widened, he hadn't expected that at all. Jack loved him; he smiled and promptly returned the kiss, pulling Jack closer. The kiss quickly escalated as each man's passion overtook them and before long they found themselves back in the bed. Their lovemaking was exquisite. Now that Jack had let go, he felt more alive than ever before. Jack expertly brought Ianto to the brink before backing away, finally giving in and letting Ianto empty his seed into him. Jack moaned in pleasure. He quickly flipped over and pinned Ianto beneath him. Ianto grabbed him and moved his mouth over him. Jack didn't know how long he could last with Ianto's mouth and tongue pleasuring him. Not long apparently. With one long, strong suck, Ianto pushed him over the edge and jack screamed with his release. Ianto never stopped and he sucked Jack dry.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Lying spent in each other's arms, Jack and Ianto both felt joy and exhaustion. It was a while before Jack could move. When he did he turned his head to look at the man who had stolen his heart.

"I love you Ianto Jones."

Ianto smiled and entwined his fingers with Jack's.

"I love you too Jack Harkness."

"Yan, there is stuff you need to know about me. Things I have done. The people who have been and who are in my life….."

"Shhh." Ianto said, putting a finger to his lips. "I love you Jack. You've lived a long life; I know you've done things and loved others. I don't need to know it all. Let's just live our lives, for however long we have, which I'm sure will be decades."

With that, Ianto let his hand drift down Jack's body till he found what he was looking for. With a twinkle in his eye, he squeezed gently. Jack groaned and all thought of talking was wiped from his mind. Ianto took his hand and led him into the bathroom where they showered together. Well they did shower eventually, after they had made love again. Jack was glad that it was nearly lunch time because their screams would have made the neighbours very concerned about what the hell was going on in the apartment.

When they had dried themselves off, Jack decided that they should get something to eat and not trusting himself not to just drag Ianto back to bed; he insisted that they go out for lunch. Ianto just nodded with a glazed look in his eyes. He looked like a man who was completely satisfied. Forgoing his usual attire of suit and tie, he decided to wear something casual for lunch. He grabbed for his jeans and a polo shirt and his Nikes. When he was dressed, he turned around to see Jack standing in the doorway. He to had forgone his usual attire of pants, blue shirt and suspenders. He was wearing jeans and polo as well. Ianto hadn't even known that Jack owned a pair of jeans. Each man slowly eyed each other up and down. When their eyes met again, they were both smiling and breathing hard.

"Oh God Yan, your arse looks amazing in those jeans. If you wore them to work, I'd never get any work done."

"I was just about to say the same thing to you Cariad." Ianto said softly.

Jack gave himself a shake and grab Ianto's hand and they walked out of the front door together hand in hand.

When they reached the restaurant, Jack asked for a private table and they were lead to the back of the restaurant and seated in a booth that was semi hidden behind some rather bushy potted plants. Jack insisted that Ianto slide in first and then Jack slid in beside him. The booth was so private that as soon as they sat down, neither man could see or be seen by the other restaurant patrons. Ianto cheekily grabbed Jack and gave him a mind numbing kiss, it was so good that Jack nearly forgot that they were in a public place. He was just about to push Ianto down and have his way with him when the waiter arrived with their complimentary drinks. When the waiter cleared his throat, Jack pulled away from Ianto and put some distance between them. When the waiter left, Ianto leaned over and whispered in Jack's ear that even though it was lovely to be out with him, he would much rather be at home alone with him in bed. He then squeezed Jack's thigh. Jack moaned and wondered where this Ianto had come from. He was so forthright; usually it was Jack who led the way in their lovemaking and game playing. Not today, Ianto was showing a whole new side of himself and Jack loved it.

Jack struggled to regain control of his body. He removed Ianto's hand but held onto it while he dug around in his pocket to bring out a small box. Ianto looked at the box, he recognised it. Jack always had it on him, either in a pocket in his coat or in his pants. Ianto had often wondered what it contained. He figured he was about to find out. Jack placed the box on the table and opened the lid to reveal a beautifully engraved silver ring.

"Yan, you know I have lived for a long time. In all that time I have only truly been in love a handful of times and I have never given this to anyone. You must believe me."

"I do Cariad. I believe you."

Smiling, Jack grabbed the box and turned back to Ianto before continuing.

"This ring belonged to my father, my mother gave it to him on their wedding day and I would be honoured if you would wear it as my husband. Ianto, will you marry me?"

Ianto stared at Jack, tears of joy streaming down his face. Unable to speak, he mutely nodded as Jack, who was crying and smiling at the same time, placed the ring on his finger and then kissed it. Ianto leaned forehead and kissed Jack with his whole body and soul. Jack returned the favour but unlike last time, this kiss was full of gentleness. Slowly pulling back, Jack smiled at Ianto, feeling full of love for his young Welshman. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw the waiter approach again to take their order. Jack ordered a bottle of champagne as well as their food. When the champagne arrived, the waiter had popped the cork and poured them each a glass, Jack promptly toasted Ianto and the love that they were about to celebrate. Ianto returned the favour and let Jack know, that even though he hadn't been looking, he had found his soul mate and he would never let him get away.

Two months later Jack and Ianto were married in a small private ceremony. In attendance were Gwen and Rhys, who were their official witnesses as well, Ianto's sister and her husband as well as Martha Jones and her fiancé Mickey Smith. The small wedding party celebrated at the local pub till the wee hours of the morning when everyone declared that it had been a beautiful day and then they all gave Jack and Ianto a kiss and a hug and all went their own way home. Jack and Ianto returned to their house, the one that they had purchased only the week before. Settling into bed together they were both lost in their own thoughts. Ianto thankful that he'd been open to accepting love from a man and Jack was thankful of that premonition that he had received in that dream. By telling Ianto how he had felt, he knew that what he had dreamed would not play out the same way. He and Ianto would be together for a long time. If the 456 did return as was shown to him in that dream, he would make sure that Ianto never went anywhere near Thames House.


End file.
